Author Notes: Think cheesy poundcake. Think party food. Think happy mornings, popping a few too many quesadillas in your mouth. In El Salvador they eat rich, buttery quesadillas in the morning with a big cup of coffee and I suggest you do the same. You’ll love the slight crunch of the sesame seeds in combination with the sweet/salty cake.

Food52 Review: We were instantly won over by these mysterious, ethereal breakfast cakes. Even the uncooked batter, a cloud of sugar, butter, sour cream and rice flour lightened with egg and perfumed with parmesan, inspired rhapsodic musings. Sasha's Salvadoran "quesadillas" are a unique blend of sweet, savory and tangy, with the texture of a fine, delicate corn muffin. The edges of the little cakes crisp and brown beautifully, while the centers remain snow white and tender. We recommend letting them cool for at least 10 minutes before removing them from the pan -- we found they slipped out easily this way. - A&M —The Editors

Makes 18

1cup rice flour

1teaspoon baking powder

1pinch salt

1cup butter, softened

1cup sugar

3 large eggs

1cup sour cream*

1/2cup grated hard cheese, such as cojita or parmesan*

sesame seeds, to taste

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Meanwhile, whisk together the rice flour, baking powder, and salt. Then, in the bowl of a standing mixer, cream the butter with sugar. Drop in the eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides as needed.

Next beat in the sour cream, cheese, and rice flour mixture until a smooth batter forms.

Spoon into greased muffin tins, filling each one 4/5th of the way up (this batter does not rise much). Sprinkle on the sesame seeds, to taste.

Bake for 15-20 minutes. Let cool to room temperature - it'll taste like a cheesy pound cake. Amazing with a cuppa coffee in the morning.

Though my daughters loved these (they dispatched 8 between the two of them!) my husband and I thought they were kind of weird and greasy. Thanks to other reviewers I cut back a tiny bit on the butter (used 3/4 c.) and sugar (maybe 13-14 Tbs. instead of the full cup), and they baked for about 23 minutes. My husband said they seemed underdone but I'm guessing that's the desired texture, like Pao de Queijo. They had nice flavor (salty & sweet; I added a glug of vanilla, which I'd do again) but texturally were too gummy and moist for my liking and, though they certainly felt light & fragile when removing them from the pan (had no trouble with crumbling or sticking) they tasted heavy-ish, I guess because of all of the butter. If I made them for my daughters again, I'd use 1 stick of butter and 3/4 C. of sugar.

I baked them directly as the recipe called for. They are so good! They popped out of the muffin tin after 15 minutes of baking and 10 minutes resting in the pan. Mine did not crumble in any way. They were moist and held together even when biting in to them. I used cotija and light sour cream. WOW there were so good. Served with chili tonight but what a delish breakfast. So glad you shared this recipe with us! Thank you!!

I really liked these but I can understand the mixed reviews concerning the quantity of butter and sour cream. They are very rich - you sort of have to forget about your arteries for a few minutes and just enjoy them. Yet for something so rich, they are indeed light and delicate to the point where a couple of them crumbled apart when removing them from the pan. We waited more than ten minutes and were very gentle but they really are that crumbly. It didn't matter too much to me - I ate them with a fork - but if I had guests and was at all concerned about presentation, that might be a bit frustrating. But not too much! I was more than happy to pick at the crumbs. Used Cojita over Parmesan - can't imagine enjoying parm very much, it seems an overpowering flavor to pair with the sweetness. Cojita was flavorful but in an understated way. Will definitely make again but might fiddle with quantities a bit.

Great recipe! Just made these for the second time, and I have to say my wife and I preferred the Cojita over the Parmesan. Both times they came out excellent, but they were moister and the flavor was better with the Cojita.

I made two batches, one with parmesan and one with cotija. I actually preferred the parmesan but maybe I'm not exotic enough. :) If I made them again I'd halve the sugar. Yummy, though, and filled up a 24-muffin pan producing adorable thin little cakes that I'll be serving to a large group of friends with breakfast tomorrow. Nice for my celiac friend to have something yummy to eat that everyone else will enjoy too.

This is a little piece of heaven!! In 4 days, I've made 3 batches already! Brought some to a camping trip, served them for breakfast and our Mexican friends LOVED it especially because of the Cotija. It was so nice to wake up to these cakes and have them with coffee on that cold morning by the river. This will definitely be a staple for camping trips and breakfasts for house guests. Thanks for sharing the recipe!

These quesadillas are wonderful!! I'm a baker at a restaurant and I've made these several times for our Sunday brunch gluten free pastry but everyone loves them, not just our gluten free patrons. I have to make a triple batch so there will be plenty for our staff as well. Usually I use cotija and sour cream. However, today I made them with crema salvadoreña and cotija and they are way more fabulous! I highly recommend using these two ingredients over sour cream and parmesan. I also made them into mini muffins and they turned out great. Always a big hit! Thank you.

Rich but rather wonderful and satisfying. Probably not as bad for me as some of my morning favorites. Could the difference in results be from the cheese used. I threw in some Parmesan that had been grated and sitting in the frig for a few days so it may have been a little drier.

I think it really depends what temperature you eat it at. If you eat it warm out of the oven it will be really greasy. It is definitely very rich.

It's important to note that other cultures enjoy different ratios of fat in their food. I'm constantly amazed by how much red palm oil goes into West African food, for example. Personally, I love learning these things. It's so fun to taste and see where we're similar and where we're different.

Here's the strange thing. I made these 3 times. As you can tell from my earlier post, they were delicious and a huge hit with all who tried them... the first two times, that is. When I made them the third time I ran into the issue mentioned below with excess butter to the point where the cakes were inedible. Couldn't figure out what had happened.

My baking podwer is not out of date. In any event, it has nothing to do with a fundamentally flawed recipe ( ingredient proportions ). The amount of butter left my fingers looking like they were dipped in butter. The flavor was bla. FWIW, I have advanced cooking and baking skills. I made these against my better judgement due to the reviews.

I am not sure what happened to your cakes but we love these. They are the perfect little bites with a turbo-charged morning coffee. Also a great idea for kids before the school run--tastes great with any kind of berries.

I am not sure what happened to your cakes but we love these. They are the perfect little bites with a turbo-charged morning coffee. Also a great idea for kids before the school run--tastes great with any kind of berries.

I am not sure what happened to your cakes but we love these. They are the perfect little bites with a turbo-charged morning coffee. Also a great idea for kids before the school run--tastes great with any kind of berries.

Just found Food 52 today and made these tonight for a breakfast group tomorrow. Try these! They were so easy and absolutely delicious! We did not wait the recommended 10 minutes to cool off and they were still fantastic. Couldn't find cojita so substituted fontina cheese.

I made this for friends who weren't keen on the (parmesan) cheese, so I substituted freshly ground almonds and they still came out wonderful. I love the sweet-salty thing but these worked out perfectly too! Just to share.

Oooooh, sumptuous little pillows of deliciousness. I made half in the regular size muffin cups and half in mini size. The small size is probably best because they're so rich. But then, of course it's tempting to have two instead of just one. Hmmmmmm. And I love the crisp little rim where they brown just a bit. Thanks for posting this!

Oooooh, sumptuous little pillows of deliciousness. I made half in the regular size muffin cups and half in mini size. The small size is probably best because they're so rich. But then, of course it's tempting to have two instead of just one. Hmmmmmm. And I love the crisp little rim where they brown just a bit. Thanks for posting this!

I made these this morning for my gluten-free mom and sisters as a quick breakfast before they got on the road to drive home. Even my long suffering, gluten-full dad liked them! I agree with other reviewers that they're way, way buttery, but the gluten free crowd this morning told me that this quantity of butter is par for the course on most tasty gluten free baked goods... Thanks for a great, quick, gluten free option!

I just popped these out of the pan. So rich & moist. I used a mini muffin pan and it worked out great; exactly enough batter do make 24 mini muffins. I ate three and putting away the rest. : ) Lots of butter, and I was thinking maybe next time to cut back a tad to suit my own palate. I can't wait to eat another one tomorrow and see how they taste having had a chance to firm up and note the make-ahead taste. Easy, inexpensive and incredibly good. I used parmesean but will try cojita next time. May also play around with poppy seeds and nuts on top for fun. Perfect for a breakfast/brunch, potluck, snack, and bridal/baby shower event.

Hmm, maybe 1/2 less butter and 1/2 cup more sour cream or even creme fraiche. So glad I made these though. I know I will make often at the above events that's for sure. The no gluten is great as many of my friends kids cant have it. My diabetic Aunt LOVES sweets and next time I see her I could try to make with Spenda.

I made a lemon and poppy seed version - AWESOME! The fragrance of the lemon zest carried through, perfuming and flavouring the delicate, buttery cake. I reduced the butter to 3/4 cups and increased the sour cream. Also dialled back the sugar to 3/4 cup. Wonderful. I preferred them on the day though....

Made these this morning while at the beach on vacation! These are restaurant-worthy!! I forgot to get sesame seeds so we put some slivered almonds on top. I have a friend coming to visit next month that can't eat gluten and I'm thrilled to have such a great treat to make for her visit! Thanks for sharing.

Just ate 3...so good! I definitely recommend having a hot cup of extra bold, black coffee with these super rich cakes... Though my hands were so buttery from the cakes that my cup almost slipped from my grasp!

EVERYONE, you can easily buy RICE FOUR at any ASIAN MARKET under the name MOCHIKO. It comes in a white box. It is very easy to find. I am from California, and just about all Korean, Philippino, Japanese markets sell this rice flour. At ALL 99-RANCH markets they also sell various other name brand rice flour as well. I have bought QUESEDILLAS in large quantities(30-50) here at a local EL SALVADOR bakery & they are very expensive. I appreciate the time & effort you made to post this recipe. I am gluten intolerant(CELIAC DISEASE), so these are a G-d send. I can now make these at home for a fraction of what is costs to buy at a bakery. Congrats on your WIN SASHA.

Living in Kathmandu makes things like sour cream and Parmesan hard to come by. On the other hand, we have sesame seeds coming out of our ears. Today I decided I HAD to make these to set the cream to souring; it will be ready by tomorrow morning. So, in the meantime, I measure out the dry ingredients, blended the sugar (3/4 cup) and butter and then the carefully, lovingly grated precious Parmesan for which I paid a small fortune. This blended combo is in the fridge and the dry stuff is ready to include with my sour cream tomorrow morning. I do hope this stalled process works out well... I MUST have these!Will keep you all posted.

This sequence worked out very well. Spending the night in the fridge allowed the butter/sugar/egg blend to harden up a bit (the butter was VERY soft before).After my second one I felt sick... too much butter? I ate another anyway because they're so incredibly good, but I wonder if there's any way to cut back on the butter. I only did 3/4 cup of sugar and may take it down to 2/3 or even 1/2 when I bake these again.Thank you, thank you, thank you for this amazing recipe!

Yes these are delicious and easy to make too! I would like to know if I can use 1/2-3/4 cup of sugar instead of 1 cup without affecting the recipe as I prefer a tad less sweet. Also, would the cotija cheese make much difference in taste as opposed to the fresh grated parmesan that I used ( which was tasty, BTW- just want to know if it's worth hunting for cotija)??

Congrats and thanks for the great recipe. I made it tonight, and they came out fantastically! I bought a Salvadoran quesadilla at Whole Foods a few times, and your recipe is the best!! I made some in muffin tins, and I also made some of the batter in a springform cake pan. They both look fantastic.

I wonder, could one cut down on the butter some? Instead of two sticks, perhaps one stick and add an extra egg?

I want to add my congrats onto what I'm sure is going to a very long list of congrats to you! These are just wonderful, so unusual and yet accessible. This is the type of recipe I come to food52 for. Many congrats!

Can't you make your own rice flour????????? By blending raw rice repeatedly in a spice grinder and sieving it to get the coarser bits out. Wouldn't that work? I've made my own rice flour for use in a fish recipe where the flour formed the outer covering. Try it....

I passed this recipe on to a friend, and she made them and shared them with me (she swapped out homemade creme fraiche for the sour cream). Utterly delicious - sweet but not too sweet, great edge from the parmesan, and perfect with a cup of tea.

I hear ya, but yes, AP flour would be much too heavy. Rice flour adds such a delicate touch, I'm not sure there is a good substitute. You might try asking on foodpickle, maybe someone else has an idea for you.

I hope this doesn't freak you out. I'm serving these on Tuesday as a sort of (very sort of) "crouton" for lack of a better word, with a Roasted Corn Chowder over the top, then shredded white cheddar and a generous drizzle of cilantro pesto over the top of that. And I absolutely can't wait!

I am just finishing a bowl of this, and I have to say your gorgeous little quesadilla was the crowning touch. I could eat these little gems like candy! Thank you so much for sharing your recipe. It's earned a permanent spot in the repertoire.

Sasha has this recipe on her blog dated 2/13/2011. The link you provided has the recipe posted on 5/17/2011. Clearly Sasha did not copy the recipe. It seems as if the food.com recipe was taken from Sasha, not the other way around. Before you accuse someone of stealing (which is what it appears you are doing) you should do a smidge of background research.

These are wonderful! I lived in El Salvador for 5 years, and Quesadilla was my favorite "pan dulce" (sweet bread or pastry). Not only eaten at breakfast, afternoon coffee and pan dulce is also a must!

Quesadilla made with rice (and also corn) flour are more traditional in El Salvador, since wheat is not really a crop there. Even though there are now lots of wheat recipes around, the rice flour makes a better, lighter quesadilla.

One note on the receipe: the name of the cheese is Cotija (if it's going in the cookbook, it should be spelled right :-)

so its been a few hours since these little beauties came out of the oven and I ate 3, they are just as wonderful at room temp...and my husband and daughters agree,,these are very tasty..( before i even tasted the 1st one I had gone to the cabinet to get the honey thinking the cheese would make me need it,,,I put the honey back it is not needed infact I think serving these with sausage would be grand

up at 4am with allergies, So of course I tried this recipe out and let me just say I was skeptical about how the parmesan would taste in it and DEVINE is the word to describe these little treasures, now I must go for my walk Ive already devoured 3 and they are addicting

When Global Table Adventure gets over with in a few years, I think it'd be awesome if you started updating some of your greatest cultural recipes for people with gluten intolerance or peanut butter allergies... so other foodies can learn how well they can eat even with a few restrictions. I'm with you on your daily adventure to stay!

Congratulations! I have had these tasty treats (they sell them in bodegas/Latino produce stands around San Francisco) but yours look better! I also love the theme of your blog. What a great way to broaden your families culinary and cultural horizons.

Congratulations on being a finalist -- these little cakes ook wonderful and so simple to make! I look forward to making them soon. And your blog is beautiful with such great photos. Your premise of eating your way around the globe is an inspired idea. I definitely will take some time to explore it.

Thanks boulangere and sagegreen - they are very simple to throw together (great for a potluck or party). Straddling the line between sweet and salty, they are definitely a fun, Central American twist on breakfast. I think they are best eaten at room temperature; that's when the butter flavor "sets" and the flavor becomes reminiscent of cheesy pound cake.

The recipe calls for 'rice flour' ... can I use glutinous rice flour? The great god Google tells me this type of rice flour is made from 'sweet rice' but am not sure if this will be OK in this recipe. Please advise as I am eager to try this recipe!
My thanks in advance ... Christina